Steamer for ends of shoes



NOV. 7, 1961 J. s. KAMBORIAN ETAL 3,007,183

STEAMER FOR ENDS OF' SHOES 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 9, 1959 Nov. 7, 1961 J. s. KAMBORIAN ET AL 3,007,183

STEM/1ER FOR ENDS oF SHOES Filed March 9, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 oOo ooooooooo ooooooooooc ooooooooooo ooooooooooo United States Patent OA Filed Mar. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 797,922 7 Claims. (Cl. 1259.7)

This invention relates to conditioners for use in the manufacture of shoes and more especially to steaming apparatus for softening the upper material at the ends of shoes, including lining and box toe material which has been previously coated or impregnated with stiffeners and/lor adhesive preparatory to lasting.

The principal objects of this invention are to provide an improved apparatus for producing dry steam and applying it to the pulled-over end of the shoe to be lasted in such a way as to produce softening of the upper material and any impregnant, or activating the latter without wetting the shoe; to provide apparatus in which superheated steam may be produced and applied to the end of the shoe at high velocity without requiring high pressure within the apparatus; to provide an apparatus in Which the steam may be confined to the area required to be treated without affecting adjacent areas; toprovide apparatus in which shoes of dilierent size and style may be treated without adjustment or change ofrparts; and to provide an apparatus which requires little attention and is durable.

As herein illustrated, the steamer has a low pressure boiler chamber for changing water into wet steam, a

superheater through which the wet steam ascends and is dried without substantially increasing the pressure, an aspirator through which the dry low pressure steam is allowed to expand at high velocity, and means for supporting a shoe close to the aspirator for exposure to the high velocity superheated steam. The boiler is a metal container having a heating coil at its bottom and tins projecting upwardly from the bottom -for conducting heat into the water within it. A float control valve provides for maintaining a suitable levelY of Water within the container. A thick metal plate covers the boiler and has vertically elongate openings through it, arranged uniformly, transversely and longitudinally of the plate and a heating element which supplies sufficient heat to the plate to superheat the wet steam as it passes through the opening. A thin aluminum sheet is superposed on the cover plate, spaced from the upper ends of the openings so that steam rising through the openings can ilow laterally between the plate and the sheet. The sheet contains uniformly distributed perforations of much smaller size than the openings in the cover plate, arranged over areas corresponding in shape to the end of a shoe, through which the superheated steam is permitted to expand. A hood is disposed against the perforated sheet and contains bottom openings corresponding substantially in shape to the perforations and front openings through which the ends of the shoe may be placed. A shield is disposed across each frontV opening, beneath the lower edge of which the end of a shoe may be thrust to confineV the action of the superheated steam to that portion of the toe inside of the shield. An adjustable bracket is fastened to the front of the boiler for Vsupporting the shoe at a suitable angle.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. l is a front elevation of the steamer;

FIG. 2 is a section takenon the line 2 2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an end elevation;

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a part of a modified aluminum ICC sheetcontaining perforations arranged in the shape of the bottom of the shoe at the toe;

FIG. 5 is a vertical section through one of the hoods, showing the toe of a shoe inserted beneath the shield and the high velocity steam impinging upon the shoe;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary elevation of the support for the shield; and

FIG. 7 is a front elevation to much smaller scale of a three-chamber steamer. Y

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a boiler 10 in the form of a substantially rectangular container having a bottom 12 and front, rear and end walls 14, the top of the container being open. A plurality of fins 16 (FIGS. 1 and 2) rise from the bottom of the container for conducting heat to Water within the container and there is a passage 18 (FIG. l) lengthwise of the bottom, substantially midway between the front and rear sides, in which there is disposed a heating cartridge 20, for cX- ample a resistance coil for supplying heat to the bottom and to the fins 16 for heating the water. There is a port 22 containing a valve 23 in one end wall of the container through which water may be supplied from a source of water, such as a gravitational feed from a bottle, or a pressure feed from a water line. A oat 24 controls the valve and hence the level of the water in the container.

A thick metal plate 26 is superposed on the open top of the container and is fastened thereto by screw bolts 28-28, the lower ends of which are fastened to the end Walls by pins 30--30, the intermediate portions of which pass through grooves 32-32 at the ends of the plate and V the upper ends of which have threaded thereon nuts 34 34, which can be screwed down to hold the plate firmly against the top of the container or loosened to permit swinging the bolts out of the groove so that the plate 26 can be removed.

The plate 26 has through it from its underside to its top side a plurality of uniformly distributed, vertically elongate openings 36 (FIGS. l and 2). VTwo sets of these openings 36 are provided, arranged over substantially rectangular areas of the plate at opposite sides of the center line, Vas shown in FIG. l. The upper part of the plate is recessed, as shown at 38, so that the upper ends of the openings 36 lie just below the top of the plate. At the rear side of the plate there is a passage 40 in which there is disposed a heating unit 42 for heating the plate to a temperature sufficient to superheat the steam rising from the container through the passages.

A thin sheet of aluminum 44 (FIG. 2) is placed on the upper surface of the plate 26, for example aluminum foil, so as to cover the recesses 38 and this is clamped against the surface by a hood 46, the bottom portion of which has laterally projecting bifurcated ears 48--48 (FIG. 1), through which the clamping bolts 28-28 extend and against the upper surfaces of which the nuts 34-34 bear. The hood is divided into two chambers 50--50, which are located above the respective recesses 38 and at the bottom of each chamber there is an opening 52 corresponding generally in shape to the end of a shoe, but being somewhat larger than the largest shoe which is expected to be treated. The sheet aluminum below each of the openings 52 contains a plurality of perforations 54 of much smaller diameter than the openings 36, which are distributed uniformly over areas which are in the shape of an inverted V and which correspond generally in shape to the end of a shoe. The sheet aluminum has a thickness in the order of four thousands of an inch and the perforations are in the order of twenty- (FIGS. and 6) is placed across the front opening of each chamber 50, beneath the lower edge of which the toe of the shoe may be thrust. The shield may, for example, be comprised of an elastic material such as silicon rubber fastened at its opposite edges to brackets 57 mounted on a bar 59l extending across the front opening. Each shield is secured tothe brackets 57 at points adjacent the bottom and a side of a front opening of a chamber 50 and forms an arch across the front opening (see FIG. 6). The arch slopes downwardly from the front of the arch inwardly into the hood (see FIG. 3). When the toe of the shoe is thrust beneath the shield, the deformable shield yields and covers the upper part of the shoe back of the tip, but leaves the underpart of the toe and the margin of the material fully exposed for treatment.

An adjustable bracket is provided for supporting the shoes with their toes within the chambers 50-50. The bracket comprises a pair of spaced plates 60-60 (FIG. 2), fastened to the front of the container through which there are a plurality of holes 62 and 64 (FIG. 3), which are disposed in registration in the respective plates. An arm 66 is mounted between the plates and adjustably held therein by a pin 68 which is inserted through the holes 62-62 at the forward edge of the plates and through a hole in the arms 66 and by a bar 70, which is inserted through the holes 64-64 at the rear edges of the plates and a hole in the arm. A pair of rubber washers 72 (FIG. 2) on the rod 70 hold the rod 70 against lateral displacement. A second rod 74 is mounted at the outer end of the arm 66 so as to be parallel to the rod 70. As thus constructed, shoes may be placed across the rods 70 and 74 with their forward ends within the chambers Sil-50. The holes 62 and 64 provide for adjustment of the level and the angle of the arm 66 and hence the rods 70 and 74 for shoes of diiferent size and style.

As thus constructed, water supplied to the container is converted to wet steam by means of the heat supplied to the bottom of the container and this wet steam passes upwardly through the vertically elongate openings 36 and is superheated by the heat supplied to the plate 26. The wet steam is superheated, that is, dried out without raising the pressure substantially. As it rises from the upper ends of the opening 36 it Hows laterally in all directions beneath the sheet of aluminum foil and when it reaches the perforations through the aluminum foil it escapes through these perforations and because of the sudden expansion attains a rather high velocity. By mounting the shoes so that the surfaces to be treated are quite close to the upper surface of the perforated area of the aluminum sheet the high velocity jets of superheated steam strike the surface of the shoe, which is quite cool in comparison to the steam, but rebounds therefrom before the temperature of the particles of steam fall in temperature suiciently to become saturated. Consequently, the heating produced by impingement of the steam on the shoe is a dry heat which is highly desirable and which is not attainable with apparatus heretofore provided for this purpose.

The steamer, thus far described, contains only two treating chambers 50-50 and hence Will only accommodate two shoes at one time. Under certain conditions it is desirable to treat the shoes at a lower heat and for a longer time without slowing down the laster. Accordngly, a steamer may be provided, such as shown in FIG. 7, with three treating chambers. For such an arrangement a novel method of operation is possible which comprises taking the shoe at one end out of the steamer and immediately replacing it with another and continuing this procedure throughout the row as many times as is desirable. Following this practice there will always be a shoe ready for lasting because the time of treatment will have been increased by about one-third over that provided for by a two-chamber steamer.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents which fall within the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A steamer for conditioning the ends of shoes cornprising a container for holding a quantity of water, means for heating the container to convert the water into we t steam, a plate positioned at the top of the container having at least one opening extending therethrough through which the steam may rise, means for heating the plate to superheat the steam as it passes through the opening, a sheet spacedly positioned above the plate to permit the superheated steam to spread laterally therebeneath, and at least one opening substantially smaller in size than the rst mentioned opening extending through the sheet through which the superheated steam may pass in a thin jet at high velocity.

2. A steamer for conditioning the ends of shoes com,- prising a container for holding a quantity of water, means for heating the container to convert the water into wet steam, a cover plate positioned at the top of the container having a recess in its upper surface, at least one opening extending through the plate and into the recess through which the wet steam may rise, means for heating the plate to superheat the steam as it rises through the opening, a sheet positioned on the plate and extending over the recess whereby the superheated steam may spread laterally beneath the sheet, at least one opening substantially smaller in size than the first mentioned opening extending through the sheet through which the superheated steam may pass in a thin jet at high velocity, and means for clamping the sheet against the plate.

3. The steamer of claim 2, wherein the clamping means comprises a hood positioned above the plate, said hood having an opening above the sheet so that the jet of steam may pass through the opening and against a shoe positioned in the hood.

4. A steamer according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of openings are provided in the sheet which are grouped in the shape of an inverted V.

5. A steamer for conditioning the ends of shoes comprising a low pressure boiler for receiving water, a heating coil at the bottom of the boiler for raising the water therein to its boiling point, a cover at the top of the boiler containing vertically disposed openings through which the steam is permitted to rise and a heating element in the cover for superheating steam as it rises through the openings, a thin aluminum sheet supported on the cover above the openings, said sheet being spaced from the upper ends of the openings sufficiently to permit the superheated steam to spread laterally beneath the sheet, said sheet containing a plurality of perforations of much smaller size thanthe openings in the cover disposed over areas corresponding in shape to the end of a shoe, through which the superheated steam is allowed to escape at high velocity, and means supporting a shoe with its end close to the perforated areas so that the high velocity steam impinges upon the surface of the shoe and rebounds before its temperature lowers sufliciently to become saturated.

6. A steamer for conditioning the ends of shoes comprising a thick heated plate containing vertically elongate holes of small diameter distributed uniformly lengthwise and transversely over a predetermined area, means for supplying wet steam to the holes so that it rises through them and is superheated, a sheet of aluminum foil superposed on the plate in spaced parallel relation thereto, providing a shallow chamber between the upper ends of the holes and the foil into which the superheated steam may spread laterally as it rises from the upper ends of the holes, said foil containing a plurality of perforations of smaller size than the holes distributed uniformly over areas corresponding generally in shape to the end of a shoe, and located above the subjacent area containing the holes through which the superheated steam rises,l

through which the superheated steam escapes and attains high velocity, a hood mounted on the heating plate in contact with the foil, said hood having a bottom opening corresponding substantially in area to the perforated p0rtions of the foil and a front opening of such shape as to receive the toe of a shoe, and means for supporting a shoe with its toe within the hood above the perforated area.

7. A steamer for conditioning the ends of shoes comprising a receptacle having a bottom and walls for holding a quantity of water, a heating element disposed at the bottom, heat conducting fins rising from the bottom into the water of the receptacle, and a oat control valve in a side wall of the receptacle through which water is adapted to enter the receptacle, a thick cover at the top of the receptacle containing vertically elongate holes arranged in uniformly spaced relation lengthwise and transversely of the cover, the upper ends of the holes lying in a plane slightly below the top of the cover, a heating element disposed in the cover for superheated steam rising through the holes, a sheet `of aluminum foil supported on the top surface of the cover above the holes,

said foil containing a concentration of very small perforations distributed uniformly over an area corresponding in shape to the end of a shoe, a hood mounted on the cover in contact with the foil, said hood having a bottom opening corresponding substantially in shape to the perforations in the aluminum foil, and a front opening through which the toe of a shoe may be inserted above said perforated area, and means at the front of the container for supporting a shoe with its end disposed in the opening at the front of the hood.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,181,433 Carroll et al. May 2, 1916 1,341,183 Lee May 25, 1920 1,678,773 Furber July 31, 1928 2,223,844 Cordeau Dec. 3, 1940 2,283,306 Andrews May 19, 1942 2,460,940 Maeser Feb. 8, 1949 2,908,023 Villani Oct. 13, 1959 2,929,082 Schultz Mar. 22, 1960 

